E Danzando Canteranno – Canti Lodi e Vespri (2 Volume Set) by Servizio Orientamento Giovani

E Danzando Canteranno is a two-volume set of Italian Franciscan songbooks, offered here together. The title is taken from Psalm 87 and translates as “and dancing they will sing”.

Both volumes were produced by the Servizio Orientamento Giovani, the youth office of the Sacro Convento della Porziuncola at Santa Maria degli Angeli, near Assisi in the province of Perugia.

The smaller volume of E Danzando Canteranno is the words edition, subtitled Canti, Lodi e Vespri (songs, lauds and vespers). It has 288 pages of hymn texts, psalms and prayers for morning and evening worship.

The larger companion volume, Melodia, runs to 397 pages. It gives the music and words for the songs in the book, mostly as sheet music, and was compiled with the Circolo S. Francesco e S. Chiara (A.N.S.P.I.).

The back covers of E Danzando Canteranno carry the rite “Per la consegna del Tau”, the Franciscan blessing used when presenting the Tau cross. Beside it is a medallion from a twelfth-century stained-glass window at St Denis. The cover illustration is signed and dated ’81, and the original prices are given in Italian lire.

The text is in Italian throughout. Having the words edition and the music edition together makes this a complete working set.

E Danzando Canteranno will appeal to Catholic and Franciscan parishes, Italian community choirs and church musicians. Collectors of Italian religious songbooks and Franciscan devotional material will also find it of interest.

Condition – Good

Two softcover volumes. The covers of the smaller words edition are heavily foxed, with foxing to the outer page edges, but the text block inside is clean. The larger Melodia volume shows less foxing to the covers, with foxing to the outer pages. Light foxing is present throughout both volumes.